When the Barred Owl Calls

Subjects:Family Relationships; Grandparents; Greek-Americans; Growing Up; Death of Family Member

Order code:1315

Price: $14.99
Website price: $10.00

Class sets: 10 or more: $7.00 each. Order code: 1315S

“From the first page to the last...a flawless and engaging novel for young readers.”– Midwest Book Review

This is a biographical novel about family values, love, heritage, and the positive role that caring grandparents play in the psychological and moral growth of their grandchildren.

Thirteen-year-old Johnny and eighty-year-old Papa are the pivotal characters. Papa’s conviction is that what matters most in life is love, family, and happy memories. His long-saved-for gift enabling the family to travel to Greece to tighten family ties defines and drives the storyline. Events shows how Johnny becomes able to understand and benefit from Papa’s philosophy.

Boy Scout Johnny anticipates a summer filled with Merit Badge activity, overnight adventures, and projects with Papa, who, although suffering from a heart condition and becoming more dependent on a walker, is still an active family member who enjoys wonderful relationships with his grandchildren. When Greek Uncle Demetrie’s wedding invitation arrives, Johnny must weigh his wants against his understanding of his mother’s need to return to her roots in Greece, especially since Papa’s gift has made it possible for the children to accompany her.

In Greece, the family experiences a blue sky, enchanting sea, mild climate, and the architecture of small villages when they stay with Yiayia and Papou. Readers visit Nerantia, Velo, and Athens; motor amid combat-zone drivers and roads that snake around mountains; witness animated arguments about politics and the art of haggling while shopping; and fish in the Corinthian Bay. Fresh foods surround them from the sardine and herring-laden pick-up trucks and the road-side fruit stands, as well as dinner tables of Greek salad with feta cheese, goat’s milk with chocolate, koulouria, souvlakia, and squid. At Uncle Demetrie’s wedding, they dance, laugh, eat more, and talk loudly. They discover that Mama was sent to America because Aunt Sofia needed a dowry.

Johnny’s world crumbles when Papa dies. Only Harly, Papa’s eighty-year-old friend, can revitalize Johnny. In spite of Harly’s aches and advancing years, he completed a degree in botany when he was seventy-four and is still an influencing lifeforce. It is Harly who takes Johnny camping, rescues a dog, and confides his pain at losing loved ones and his secret for enjoying and dealing with life.

Throughout the book, there is a gentle nurturing of love for people and animals and the belief that a benevolent God watches over us all. Some passages in the book will bring tears.

“From the first page to the last...a flawless and engaging novel for young readers.”– Midwest Book Review

This is a biographical novel about family values, love, heritage, and the positive role that caring grandparents play in the psychological and moral growth of their grandchildren.

Thirteen-year-old Johnny and eighty-year-old Papa are the pivotal characters. Papa’s conviction is that what matters most in life is love, family, and happy memories. His long-saved-for gift enabling the family to travel to Greece to tighten family ties defines and drives the storyline. Events shows how Johnny becomes able to understand and benefit from Papa’s philosophy.

Boy Scout Johnny anticipates a summer filled with Merit Badge activity, overnight adventures, and projects with Papa, who, although suffering from a heart condition and becoming more dependent on a walker, is still an active family member who enjoys wonderful relationships with his grandchildren. When Greek Uncle Demetrie’s wedding invitation arrives, Johnny must weigh his wants against his understanding of his mother’s need to return to her roots in Greece, especially since Papa’s gift has made it possible for the children to accompany her.

In Greece, the family experiences a blue sky, enchanting sea, mild climate, and the architecture of small villages when they stay with Yiayia and Papou. Readers visit Nerantia, Velo, and Athens; motor amid combat-zone drivers and roads that snake around mountains; witness animated arguments about politics and the art of haggling while shopping; and fish in the Corinthian Bay. Fresh foods surround them from the sardine and herring-laden pick-up trucks and the road-side fruit stands, as well as dinner tables of Greek salad with feta cheese, goat’s milk with chocolate, koulouria, souvlakia, and squid. At Uncle Demetrie’s wedding, they dance, laugh, eat more, and talk loudly. They discover that Mama was sent to America because Aunt Sofia needed a dowry.

Johnny’s world crumbles when Papa dies. Only Harly, Papa’s eighty-year-old friend, can revitalize Johnny. In spite of Harly’s aches and advancing years, he completed a degree in botany when he was seventy-four and is still an influencing lifeforce. It is Harly who takes Johnny camping, rescues a dog, and confides his pain at losing loved ones and his secret for enjoying and dealing with life.

Throughout the book, there is a gentle nurturing of love for people and animals and the belief that a benevolent God watches over us all. Some passages in the book will bring tears.